The 2015 Courier News and Home News Tribune All-Area girls soccer packages will be released Thursday, Dec. 10 online and in Friday’s paper. The boys All-Area packages are out Friday online and in Saturday’s paper.

UNION TOWNSHIP (Union) – It was a script that was written back in August as the Ridge High School girls soccer team embarked on a season with limitless potential and the makings of a historic run. And while the Red Devils certainly accomplished everything they set out to do, in the long run, the fact they’ll have to share their state title will do little to dampen what can now be considered an imperfect season for undefeated Ridge.

Despite outshooting Freehold Township 19-6 and finishing with a 10-1 advantage on corner kicks, the Red Devils couldn’t quite put that capper on a season that saw them enter Saturday’s NJSIAA Group IV final with a perfect 23-0 record, as Ridge finished in a scoreless draw at Kean University’s Alumni Stadium.

Still, the tears streaming down the Red Devils’ faces as they lined up for the postgame handshakes was less about what was a somewhat disappointing result and more about the finality of the campaign and the end of some stellar varsity careers for Ridge’s uber-talented senior class.

“I’m obviously upset that it wasn’t just our win, but I’m still happy we won the state championship. That’s awesome, that’s amazing,” said senior Shannon Keefe, whose team captured the program’s first state crown since 2003. “But I think we’re crying more because the season is over, not that we didn’t win. This was an amazing season and a hell of a ride, but the fact that it’s over, I feel (down).”

“I said to them, ‘Guys. We’re still state champions.’ They said ‘Coach, we’re not crying because we didn’t win, we’re crying because it’s over,’” said Ridge coach Katie Donahue, who is even more thrilled to be leaving with a trophy after dropping her previous three decisions in state finals since taking over as head coach. “Yes, they had it scripted where we would run out and celebrate, so at the end for us to come out and give awkward hugs, that just shows we came here to win today, we didn’t come here to not lose. That being said, it’s an ok feeling walking away with that trophy today. Hats off to Freehold Township. They did fantastic.”

PENNINGTON – Ninety-nine-plus minutes of frustration might normally be enough to send most teams into a cocoon of self-doubt, but the Ridge High School girls soccer team knows first hand what it takes to succeed when the pressure is at its highest.

The Red Devils dominated most of Tuesday’s NJSIAA Group IV semifinals match with Montclair, especially during a second half when they outshot the Mounties 11-0, hit a post and had a goal disallowed by an offside call. But it wasn’t until there were 47 seconds left in the second overtime that Ridge finally found the back of net.

Senior Shannon Keefe took a pass from classmate Brielle Farrell near the 40-yard line, split a pair of defenders to gain a breakaway, closed ground on the keeper and buried it into the far right corner, and undefeated Ridge advanced to the Group IV final with a 1-0 victory at Hopewell Valley High School.

“I fell right to the ground and broke down in tears, I was so excited and happy,” said Keefe, whose team previously won double-overtime games with seconds left in both the semifinals and final of the Somerset County Tournament. “This team completely deserved it. We deserved every bit of it. We played amazing and worked our butts off. It wasn’t just me, the whole team put it in the back of the net.”

“The moment Shannon hit that one in, it was just the biggest relief and weight lifted off our shoulders,” said senior Chrissy Weyrauch, who provided the winner with seconds left in the SCT final. “We really have a history in these big games of letting it come down to the last couple of seconds, and I think all game Shannon Keefe was knocking on the door. I kept saying to her, it’s going to happen, you’re going to get one. She just kept her composure and I think that’s a testament to our team, we just don’t stop.

South River’s Jonathan Franco leads with the ball as Liam Weeks (left) and Kyle Harry of Metuchen defends during their NJSIAA Central Group I sectional final on Friday at Metuchen High School.

METUCHEN – On a windy, cold and overall terrible day for soccer, the South River boys soccer team weathered it all for a sectional championship.

With a rough midseason stretch behind them, the fifth-seeded Rams defeated second-seeded Metuchen 2-0 in the NJSIAA Central Group I Tournament final on a blustery Friday afternoon.

“I’m real proud to see where we’ve come as a team,” South River coach Eric Clays said. “We were a little stuck in mediocrity earlier in the season, and I’m proud they’ve saved their best soccer for last.”

It was clear from the start that the 20 MPH winds were having an affect on both sides. Both offenses seemed a bit sluggish as they tried to battle the wind.

In the last minutes of the first half, Metuchen got Rams goalie Erick Lucas off his line as Ayush Sood took a shot on net, but Ian Sawicki got a head on the ball and cleared it.

“He’s a high school superman,” Clays said. “I consider him as good of an athlete as there is in high school.”

Metuchen coach Ed Albanese wasn’t discouraged by the near miss and felt his team was knocking on the door of a goal.

“A goal before half is critical, but that’s when we noticed a change in momentum,” Albanese said. “I thought we were eventually going to score.”

The momentum shifted early in the second half when Metuchen was called for a foul along the sideline. South River’s Jonathan Franco served the set piece into the box, where Sawicki scored to take the 1-0 lead.

“(Franco) crossed it in, and I just went to the ball and flicked it out,” Sawicki. “I just hoped for the best.”

Shortly after, the Rams were fouled again, but this time in the box. Franco converted on the penalty kick for a 2-0 lead.

While some teams may have folded, Metuchen played its best soccer after going down two goals. The offensive attack was relentless and the Bulldogs nearly got on the board late in the second half when a Greg Poandl shot nearly nicked the right post.

BERNARDS TOWNSHIP – The last opponent the Ridge High School girls soccer team wanted to see across the field in Thursday’s NJSIAA North 2 Group IV sectional final was Skyland Conference rival Bridgewater-Raritan, a team the Red Devils had already beaten three times this season, but all in tightly contested matches.

At the same time, there was no other team Ridge would rather play.

It’s the ultimate love/hate relationship with an opponent the Red Devils knew would battle them to the final whistle, one that came closer than any other to ruining Ridge’s undefeated campaign — never more than in a double-overtime nail biter in the Somerset County Tournament final on Oct. 31. But nothing would be sweeter than to perceiver in what proved to be another war Thursday.

Amanda Cox, Julia Lindsey and Chrissy Weyrauch scored goals and the Red Devils defense held off a late charge and turned in another gem, despite a rain-slicked turf, and top-seeded Ridge captured its first sectional title since 2012, topping third-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan 3-1 at Lee Field.

“Every time we play them it’s a great game,” said senior co-captain and four-year starter Erin Convery, whose team will battle North 1 winner and defending state Group IV champ Montclair at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the group semifinals at Hopewell Valley High School. “It’s to the point where we hate playing them, but we love it, because we know it’s going to be a great game. And we know they’re going to love it and hate it just as much as we do. We knew (beating a team) three times is tough, and especially after the last one in the county championship, we knew they were going to be out for blood. So we needed to come out with the same amount of intensity.”

CHESTER – Despite putting forth an intense, hard-fought effort, the Somerville High School girls soccer team saw its season come to an end on Thursday.

The second-seeded Pioneers fell to top-seeded West Morris 1-0 in the NJSIAA North 2 Group III sectional final. Somerville was looking for its first sectional title in two years, while the Wolfpack (20-1-1) won its first crown since 2013.

“It’s an amazing feeling, we’re excited to be back there,” West Morris goalie Ilissa Webb said. “We expected a hard game, they’re great competition, they have a good record, they have amazing players, amazing coaches, we knew it was going to be a tough one.”

Both teams battled in the first half as West Morris took a slight edge on shots, 9-6. In the second half Somerville slipped up on defense, and West Morris made the Pioneers pay.

Just over two minutes into the second half Emily DeGeyter took a pass from Casey Lisa, beat her defender and headed toward the goal. Somerville goalie Sarah Coulson came out to challenge her, but went down trying to get the ball away. DeGeyter simply went around her and shot the ball into the left corner of the net for the 1-0 lead.

Somerville turned up the intensity the rest of the way, but a Wolfpack defense that has only allowed seven goals all season, wouldn’t budge. The Pioneers outshot West Morris 5-4 in the second half, but couldn’t capitalize.

“They are tenacious defensively in transition, so they bring a lot of numbers back, also that (Emily Driscoll) defended like crazy today, she was awesome,” Somerville coach Michael Kydonieus said. “They’re a tremendous defensive team, they just fly around. I told my girls they go 100 miles an hour all the time and they never stop, and I told them that’s what we were facing and we knew that and we went for it. Unlucky that we gave up a goal, but you move forward and keep your head up, we played hard, we played well.”

FREEHOLD – With the clock ticking down and the NJSIAA Central Group IV title on the line, Lacey Powell of the Freehold Township girls soccer team came through in a monumental way to steal the win from Hunterdon Central.

Hunterdon Central’s Luciana Zullo (10) scored a goal as the Red Devils fell to Freehold Twp. in the NJSIAA Central Group IV sectional final on Thursday.

With 48 seconds remaining in the match and the score tied 2-2, the Patriots’ Nicole Whitley took what would become a game-winning corner kick. She propelled the ball to the back post where a ready and waiting Powell leapt, got her head on it and found the back of the net.

“I actually usually take corners, but Nicole (Whitley) ran to take it,” Powell said. “I knew that I had to get on the end of it. We worked so hard to get the tie back so to be able to finish it in regular time was great. It just barely hit off the top of my head, but I got something on it and it’s a really good feeling.”

It has been two years since since Hunterdon Central (18-5-1) and Freehold Township met, and in the last match Powell was called on a hand ball in the box. The penalty turned into a game-winning goal for the Red Devils. A goal that Powell had to live with until Thursday afternoon.

“To see her get in there, in the box, all five-foot-nothing of her and get a head on that ball is such redemption,” Freehold Township coach Dave Patterson said. “For her to be able to get that off her back now in her senior year is just incredible and I’m so happy that it was her that was able to get it done.”

WEST LONG BRANCH — Only one word can be used to describe the run that the Shore Regional girls soccer team has been on since they moved to the Central Group I tournament: Dynasty.

Since 2012 no other team has been penciled into the winners circle of the bracket. The Blue Devils has been crowned sectional champions four consecutive seasons — each squad containing a different group of girls.

This year’s team was equipped with a young roster but experience never mattered. On Thursday night Shore played liked seasoned veteran, holding off a gritty Metuchen team, on their way to a 4-0 victory under the lights of Robert E. Feeny Field.

“I take it year by year,” Shore coach George Moutis said. “We have a few girls who have been here for four years and have held that trophy, which is a great feeling. I’m blessed to have all of this talent come in to play. It’s our system of play. We have one system, and we continue to play it.”